“It’s not over until it is over,” screamed George Russell as he spoke to an equally excited Toto Wolff. Truer words couldn’t have been said as race leader Max Verstappen and his closest competitor, Lando Norris, collided to give us a fifth different race winner in 2024. The weekend, which began with a bang off track (Hint: Jos Verstappen Drama) ended in an even bigger plot twist after his son Max bowed out of the race giving way to Mercedes’ George Russell. This also paved the way for Oscar Piastri and Carlos Sainz to get on the podium. Let us take a look at what happened.

George Russell wins the Austrian GP

Yesterday, after the qualifying, Russell, who started the race in third, said, ‘I will just do my thing and wait for these guys (Max & Land0) to take each other out’. This is exactly what happened. The Mercedes driver broke the drought of a winless streak that Toto Wolff’s pack had been having for the past year or so. Interestingly, Mercedes’s last race win was also bagged by the younger Britton instead of the 7x champion Lewis Hamilton.

Russell explained his chance win: “I am surprised that we were 12 seconds behind, and you’re always hoping (for something to happen at the front). Describing his feeling after his chance race win, he said, “Incredible. It was a tough fight out there at the beginning. I was watching the big screens and saw Lando go for it. The team has done an amazing job, and we picked up the pieces.” But the scenes at McLaren and Red Bull were exactly the opposite as tempers flared.

“He destroyed my race as his”: Lando Norris demands an apology from Max Verstappen

It was a very dramatic race. Looking at the first half, one couldn’t have guessed what was to come next at the Red Bull Ring. Max Verstappen was 7 seconds clear of Lando Norris when it all began going wrong for him. After he pitted to put on a used medium set of tires, a wheel gun betrayed him, and just like that, Lando on newer tires was now breathing down his neck. Norris continued to pressurize Verstappen, eventually forcing him to make an error, but that cost him the entire race. Norris isn’t too happy with Max’s ignorance on the track.

Talking about his race, Lando said, “Disappointed. Nothing more to say. I looked forward to a strong, fair battle, and it wasn’t. It was a mistake-free race. You aren’t allowed to move with a driver behind, and he did it 3 of 3. He destroyed my race as his. There are rules. If the rules aren’t followed. I just have to do my job and drive fast. Just need to carry on and I’m doing a good job. On to Silverstone, I’m going to do my best.”

To add to the rumors of the feud, Lando told Sky Italy, “Will the friendship between Max and me end? I don’t know, it will depend on him and how he explains: if he claims to be right, it will be over. If he admits that he did something stupid, then I will understand.” The events of this weekend might be the foundation of a future F1 rivalry if all doesn’t go well. But one side’s bad luck became a blessing for the other.

Max Verstappen and Lando Norris’ Collision leaves the door open for George Russell, Oscar Piastri, and Carlos Sainz

There is a reason that a driver tries his hardest until the end. Today’s result was a great example of why one shouldn’t ever give up till the end. Oscar Piastri and Carlos Sainz were the other two beneficiaries of Max-Lando ‘inchident’. Though Oscar Piastri came into a sniffing distance of Russell, he couldn’t quite make the overtake. Despite the unexpected P2, he was left dwelling on the ‘what ifs’. Even yesterday, he got a penalty after qualifying and got demoted despite qualifying P3. However, Carlos was beyond ecstatic with the golden opportunity.

Carlos said, “Quite an eventful race at the front. It was trying to keep up with George. We tried everything to keep up with them because we knew the Mercedes had a good pace and then Oscar came quickly. The P3 end result is gold considering the performance.”

It indeed was an eventful race. What was your favorite moment of the race?